November 8th, 2010
On Wednesday last week, Nazare rumbled under perfect conditions, with waves at around six to seven meters(19 to 22 feet), light wind and sunshine.
“Heavy, very heavy! I’m deeply convinced that these were some of the heaviest waves that I ever had.”, said 43-year-old Garrett McNamara, who teamed up with 3 time Portuguese national champion Jose Gregorio to tackle the big swell at Nazare last week. “I thought they were big, powerful and dangerous. Now I understand what Kelly [Slater] meant when he said that one mistake here could be our last!… We surfed three different peaks and I liked them all. We have three more weeks here, so I want to continue exploring, but I’m certain now that this is the perfect place to do one “Extreme Waterman Challenge”, because these waves are serious”, he concluded.
“Inside they didn’t seem very large, because they were perfect, but after seeing the pictures I can say with no doubt that these were the biggest waves ever surfed at this beach”, said José Gregório.
“The swell wasn’t the biggest, but the day was perfect and, with the phenomenon of expansion that the Nazaré’s Canyon do to the waves, they double in size at the breaking time. It was one of the best sessions I’ve had there, but I was worried at the end, when a big foam make my jet ski turn over. I was very close to the sand but, suddenly, the sea caught me and in seconds took me out again, and then dragged me to the rocks. I tried to float as much as possible, since I had the life jacket, and suddenly again I came back to the sand. It was scary, but fortunately all ended well. The sea rules, there’s no doubt”, he concluded.
This project was organized by Câmara Municipal da Nazaré, Clube de Desportos Alternativos da Nazaré and Nazaré Qualifica E.E.M., with the support of Turismo do Oeste, QREN, +Centro, Turismo de Portugal, Liberty Seguros, Lightning Bolt, GoPro – D’Maker, Filipemotoshow, Isuzu, Lena Automóveis, Peter Grimm, Noll, Instituto Hidrográfico Português, Tonic Gym, Surftotal, Surf Portugal, Antena 3, Surfer Rule and Surfspots-gps.com.
To keep abreast to all developments concerning The North Canyon Show by Garrett McNamara, you can check the official event’s official blog at nazarenorthcanyon.blogspot.com.
Credits for all photos: Wilson Ribeiro.
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